Westmoreland County directs $2.6 million annually to support Arnold Palmer Regional Airport near Latrobe, but a drop in commercial flights over the past five years has left the facility “bleeding” money.
Today, the once-thriving airport loses money every month it operates.
As the new year gets underway, the county airport authority, which operates the facility, has trimmed staff hours in the face of financial headwinds. A $22 million passenger terminal overhaul has begun even as the only airline carrier at the site faces its own challenges in an industry beset with pilot shortages and diminished flight schedules.
The airport finished 2024 about $600,000 in the red and continues to lose about $15,000 each month with a limited flight schedule that appears unlikely to change until at least this spring or summer, according to Gabe Monzo, executive director of the airport authority.
“In our 2025 budget, we’ve cut our staff in half to compensate for the lack of flights,” Monzo said.
Spirit Airlines operates round-trip flights from the Unity airport to Orlando, Fla., four days a week. Until September, it had operated daily flights there as well as round-trip flights to Myrtle Beach, S.C. Daily seasonal service to Myrtle Beach was halted in November and is expected to return this year, according to Monzo and Spirit.
With little commercial service, the airport has struggled to meet its $5.5 million budget. Its revenue is based, in part, on the number of passengers who fly into and out of the facility. Through various fees, Spirit pays the airport authority $750 for each landing, a figure that equaled about $700,000 in 2024.
“The way Spirit is operating right now is difficult for us. We are making money off them, but real soon we need at least two more flights a day to make money,” Monzo said. “We’re bleeding right now.”
Spirit came to Westmoreland County with great fanfare in 2011 at a time when no commercial operators utilized the airport. The low-cost airline initially flew to Myrtle Beach and Fort Lauderdale in Florida before expanding service to additional southern destinations such as Orlando, Tampa and Fort Myers, Fla. It also briefly operated flights to Las Vegas, Chicago and Dallas.
Passenger totals reached a high of nearly 356,000 in 2015 and remained fairly steady over the next four years until the coronavirus pandemic outbreak of 2020 drastically reduced travel. As the nation emerged from the pandemic, Spirit’s financial difficulties, coupled with equipment and personnel issues, saw the low-cost carrier reduce flights across the United States, including service cuts in Westmoreland County.
Just over 150,000 passengers flew in and out of the facility in 2023, and 145,000 did last year.
Westmoreland County is a primary benefactor for the airport. The county directs more than $2.6 million annually to the airport to cover operational costs and to pay off debt. A portion of those funds initially was paid directly to Spirit, an incentive designed to lure and keep the airline operating here.
That subsidy expired after two years. As a replacement, county funds now are used to pay for authority employees who are essentially lent to Spirit to staff the company’s local airport operation.
About $800,000 of the county’s allocation is used to pay about 50 employees — 20 full-timers and 30 part-timers — who operate Spirit’s reservation counter, baggage handling and other duties. It is money officials say is necessary to allow Westmoreland County to compete.
“My goal is to keep the airport an important economic driver for our county. The airport has a $200 million economic impact on our county. We’ve had a good partnership with Spirit, and it is a benefit for the convenience for all our residents. For 15 years I’ve supported this investment,” said Westmoreland County Commissioner Ted Kopas. “Clearly, there is a question about Spirit right now, and we need assurances and a firm commitment from them. We are all hopeful the terminal expansion will facilitate those efforts.”
Location, location, location
Location of the airport is a hurdle to attracting flights. Its proximity to Pittsburgh limits the ability to tap into federal funds used to pay for local travel at smaller airports throughout the country.
The Essential Air Service Program provides federal funding directly to airlines that operate out of airports located more than 70 miles from a major or midlevel hub.
Arnold Palmer Regional, about 61 miles from Pittsburgh International Airport, is not eligible for those funds.
The John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport, located about 90 miles from Pittsburgh, is eligible and offers daily flights to Washington, D.C., and Chicago as part of the Essential Air Service Program. Smaller, 50-seat jets operated by United Express carried about 35,000 passengers from that facility last year.
Johnstown airport authority Director Corey Cree said those flights would not be scheduled were it not for the federal subsidies. Its inclusion in the program bars the airport from providing additional subsidies to lure another commercial carrier.
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“Funding is our biggest challenge,” Cree said. “Our second problem is not having space to accommodate some aircraft and our TSA screening area and parking. We’re looking to expand both. Last March, my board president and I flew out to an airline convention to meet with (other) airlines to try and convince them to fly out of Johnstown. We haven’t been successful yet, but we’re looking.”
Westmoreland officials have taken a less proactive approach.
Monzo said he monitors the airline industry and is quick to make a call to gauge interest, but he insists that other carriers are weary of competing directly with Spirit.
Faye Malarkey Black, president and CEO of the Regional Airline Association, conceded the air travel industry is in a period of adjustment as carriers continue to struggle with pilot and equipment shortages. But, she said, competition is not likely to scare off carriers from the Unity airport.
“I don’t see airlines as being fearful of competition. They will compete in a market where they think they can make a market,” Black said.
Westmoreland’s airport struggle is not unique, she said.
Flight reduction
Large and small airports across the United States continue to see flight reductions.
All but two of Pennsylvania’s commercial airports, Lancaster and DuBois, saw flight reductions over the past six years. Arnold Palmer Regional had the second-largest reduction in flights during that period, a loss of 75% of its commercial schedule. According to aviation industry statistics, the airport had 116 commercial flights in March 2019, Black said. Current schedules list just 29 flights on tap for this March.
Pennsylvania’s 15 commercial airports collectively saw flight reductions of about 36% since 2019, including a 14% decline at Pittsburgh International and a 21% flight reduction at Philadelphia International, Black said.
Nationally, airports throughout the United States saw flight cuts of about 33%.
“Airlines want to compete where they can make money. If you have a competitive market, someone will come. It is a challenge but a unique challenge,” Black said.
She said active recruiting is necessary and officials need to be able to show there is a potential market for flights before carriers are likely to commit to serving an airport.
Monzo, who has served as director at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport since 2008 and receives an annual salary of $115,000, says he is well suited to search out and lobby airlines to operate here. The authority seeks advice from Denver-based Boyd Group about potential new business at the airport, but recruitment efforts largely reside with Monzo.
“They advise us every week, but there’s no contract. It’s a gentleman’s agreement,” Monzo said. “I don’t feel there is a need for a paid consultant right now because of the way the industry is performing. I believe the commercial carriers will come back.”
He said he has reached out to other carriers, such as Allegiant Air and Breeze Airways, which have increased their inventory of flights from Pittsburgh, but has seen little interest in their operating out of the Unity site.
As a result, for now, Spirit remains the only option for commercial flights from Arnold Palmer airport.
Myrtle Beach route to return
Spirit spokesman Tom Fletcher, in an email, said the airline remains committed to Arnold Palmer Regional.
“We are pleased with the performance of our daily nonstop service to Orlando, and we plan to resume our seasonal route to Myrtle Beach for the summer season,” he wrote. “The (Myrtle Beach) route will be available for booking on Spirit.com soon. We continuously evaluate our network and make adjustments to support the company’s business strategy based on current market and operating conditions.”
Local officials say they are confident that a completed terminal expansion and a healthier environment for air travel will lead to more flights to and from Westmoreland County. The first phase of the terminal expansion is slated for completion at the end of this year and includes an additional 32,000-square-foot passenger waiting area and a second gate for arrivals and departures.
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“The airport is the cornerstone of what are are looking at here in Westmoreland County,” said Dan DeBone, president of the Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce. “It is extremely important for tourism, for business and new development. That airport is so critical to our economic footprint.”
A survey of local passengers completed last year suggested growing interest in flights to additional Florida destinations such as Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers, as well as to Denver, Nashville, Tenn., and Phoenix. Officials remain hopeful that along with expanded charter service, which operates flights each month to Biloxi, Miss., and direct corporate service flights that the airport will be busier in years to come.
Airport authority board Chairman Paul Whittaker said he envisions diverse offerings will flourish in the coming years, singling out more commercial travel, charters, corporate travel and a thriving flight school.
“We realize that airlines that are going to come to us are not general carriers. There’s no sense trying to get out of our place, so we will serve who wants to come here to the best of our ability,” Whittaker said. “Our expansion is moving us in the right direction, and it will enable us to attract another carrier. I see a lot of potential here.”